You Gave Me Hope
by Kirai-chan
Summary: Just a little fic between Temari and Shikamaru. Shikamaru kills Temari, but she's not dead? And she copied his jutsu? Impossible! What's going on? Why's she crying? R&R! May be a bit OOC for Shikamaru
1. We'll Meet Again

This takes place after Akatsuki and Orochimaru have been annihilated. Temari is nineteen and Shikamaru is sixteen. The Sand has just broken the Leaf's trust, and the Leaf's best have been ordered to kill Temari, Kankuro, and the rest of the Sand's best ninjas. Tsunade is still Hokage and Gaara is Kazekage.

Most of the chapters will be short, but this one is mostly like a prologue.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other related characters.

Chapter 1: We'll Meet Again:

Shikamaru stood in a forest clearing with Temari. "You know, I'm only doing this because of…"

"Yeah, I know. Orders," Temari finished, smiling up at him. Temari was already wounded badly – and it was his job to finish her off. "I just think you should know – I won't die easily," she smirked.

Shikamaru smirked back, pulling out some kunai. He lunged at Temari, who barely had enough time to dodge. "You're bleeding too badly; you're slow!" he yelled, appearing behind her.

The Jounin hesitated only a moment before stabbing Temari and leaving her to die alone. Just as he was walking away, Temari rasped, "Hey, Pineapple-head. Promise me…we'll meet again?"

Shikamaru turned and looked at her. "Yeah; yeah, sure. I'd like that." He smirked at walked away.

Temari lay back onto the ground and closed her eyes, he last thought being, _'Were those tears in his eyes?'_


	2. A Changed Shikamaru

Okay, this chapter's about and a half pages long. See? Longer!

Chapter 2: A Changed Shikamaru and A New Mission!

"Hey, Naruto! Did you hear? The entire deal with the Sand was just a big mistake! There was no reason to go after them in the first place," Sakura called, running up to the ramen stand. Naruto and Hinata sat there, sharing a bowl of chicken ramen, Hinata's favorite flavor. They had been going out for a year and a half, and everyone had to agree they are the cutest couple in the village. Sakura is going out with Sasuke, leaving Ino with Kiba. Tenten and Neji are going out, too.

"Hn? You mean we had to kill all of those people for nothing?" Naruto asked, turning towards Sakura.

"That's horrible! Just look what it's done to Shikamaru…" Hinata added, joining the conversation.

"What about me?" a voice asked from behind them. Shikamaru looked different. He had the same hair and the same clothes, but there was something different. He had grown cold towards his friends, and barely ever talked. When he did, it was short sentences; sometime not even a sentence at all. Shikamaru's eyes burned with a fire of repentance and sadness, and there were dark circles around them (not nearly as dark as Gaara's).

"N-Nothing, Shikamaru-kun!" Hinata said, blushing and turning back to the ramen. Shikamaru came and sat next to his friends. Naruto and Sakura watched him.

"What?" he asked them roughly.

"U-Um…Tsunade-sama wanted to see you in her office, along with I-Ino-chan and C-Chouji-kun!" Sakura managed to stutter under his hard glare.

"Oh," he acknowledged, getting up. Without even saying goodbye or thanks, he left to tell his team.

"Phew! Glad that's over," Sakura said, turning back to Naruto and Hinata.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. No one had been able to get close to Shikamaru after he had been sent to kill the best Sand Jounin, not even Chouji – though they had no idea who the Sand nin was.

Hinata looked thoughtful. "Do you think…maybe…"

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura squealed, hugging the young Uchiha that now sat beside her.

"Hey."

"O-Oh! Sasuke-kun…I was wondering what would happen to a person if…if…they killed t-their best friend?" Hinata asked. Everyone looked at her, surprised.

"They turn really cold and distant; possibly evil. Why?" Sasuke asked Hinata, eyes narrowed. This reminded him of Itachi – but he was long gone. Sasuke had killed him.

Hinata looked down as the group caught on.

Sasuke: But…who…

Sakura: Could it be…

Naruto: You mean he killed Gaara's sister? That really rude, obnoxious, loud-mouthed…

"Yeah, sorta like you," Sasuke interrupted.

"I'll kill you!" Naruto said, lunging at Sasuke, who smirked as Naruto was held back by Sakura.

"We have bigger things to deal with! Let's go ask Tsunade-sama if Temari-san is dead or not. But I don't know why it would be her, I mean, she was practically worst enemies with Shikamaru!" Sakura yelled at Naruto.

"T-That's not true," Hinata told them as they got ready to leave. "When they were here in Konoha visiting and helping out, they spent a lot of time together. Like, almost all of their time."

"Really? Who'd you hear that from?" Naruto asked as they walked to Tsunade's office.

"Chouji."

"Of course he would know; he and Shikamaru have been best friends for like, forever," Sakura agreed.

(&)

"So…we're supposed to go to the Hidden Village of Sand because Gaara still isn't back from his mission and there's even a substitute Kazekage?" Ino asked Tsunade one last time.

"Yes. They need support, and since you are some of our best, we need you to go," Tsunade told them for the third time. "Are we finished here? I've told you three times," she asked them, shuffling papers.

"Yup! I think I've got it! You got it, Shikamaru?" Ino asked, looking over her shoulder at her fellow ninja. He nodded briefly and opened the door, walking out. Ino sighed and apologized to Tsunade for his rudeness, pulling Chouji out of the door and closing it behind her.

Just as Tsunade was going back to sleep, four ninjas burst in.

"What is it now?" she sighed, getting up slowly.

"Can you look through the death files of the recent…mistake?" Sakura asked quickly.

"For who?" asked Tsunade, dragging out a file.

"Temari of the Sand; the Kazekage's sister."

"Oh, I remember her. She was their best Jounin! I don't remember who went after her…"

"Shikamaru-kun…" Hinata whispered.

"I can't find her in here. She wasn't killed, that means," Tsunade announced.

"Not…dead?" Sakura asked, surprised.

"Huh? Is she supposed to be?" Tsunade asked, confused. She never got an answer, because the four ninjas were out of the door already. "How strange…" she muttered, falling asleep once again.

(&)

"So…Shikamaru thinks that she's dead?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, dobe," Sasuke said, glaring at him for being so stupid.

"And it also depends on what she said to him before she died," Sakura added.

"So if he promised her something, then he feels like he...can't fulfill it?" Hinata asked softly.

"Yeah. I just hope that he'll be okay when he find out she's not dead," Sakura answered.

"We're going to tell her?" Sasuke asked, draping his arm across Sakura's shoulders.

"No; worse: he's got a mission in the Sand. Apparently, Gaara hasn't come back from a mission and they've got a substitute Kazekage. No one knows whether or not Gaara's dead, and the Sand needs support badly," Sakura explained.

(&)

Miles away, Temari looked out of her window. "Jeeze…now I know what Hokage-sama feels like and why she doesn't do her paperwork. I feel sorry for…Gaara…" she looked down and held her head in her hands.

'_Gaara, wherever you are, come back soon. I can't take it…'_


	3. She Copied Me!

Chapter 3: She Copied Me!

Kankuro opened the door to the Kazekage's office. "Hey, Temari, I've got more paper…NOT AGAIN!"

Kankuro dropped the large stack of paperwork and rushed out of the office, heading off to find his sister, who had ditched her duties; again.

(&)

Ino, Chouji, and Shikamaru walked through the halls towards the Kazekage's office. Just then, Kankuro came walking briskly around the corner.

"H-Hey! Aren't you the puppeteer guy? Kankuro-san? Gaara's brother and Temari's sister?" Ino called out. Kankuro stopped.

"You're the ones they sent from Konoha, right?" Ino nodded. "Okay, then. I'm actually off to find the substitute Hokage right now. She's disappeared again, but I think I know where to find her. You can just wait here…"

"No, no, we'll come with you!" Ino insisted.

"Okay, then," Kankuro shrugged and headed towards the abandoned playground he and his siblings used to play at when they were kids.

(&)

They approached the playground, and they could hear yelling and little kids' voices. An older girl with sandy blonde hair was teaching a young boy how to swing. The boy had light blonde hair (like Ino's) and blue eyes.

"Hey! Aren't you supposed to be working?" Kankuro yelled at the girl. "And aren't you supposed to be at the academy?" he yelled at the boy. The girl turned towards them, and Shikamaru stepped back in surprise.

"Kankuro, it's Saturday! Can't you cut us some slack?" Temari complained, swinging higher. She had changed her hair style, but otherwise only the color of her outfit was different; it was not black, and her hair was only in two spiky pony tails.

"No! The ninjas from Konoha are here!" Kankuro shouted.

Temari opened her eyes and looked down on them, waving. "Hey! Well, if it isn't Pineapple-head!" she laughed.

"Y-You're dead!" Shikamaru exclaimed, eyes wide.

"You know, I don't die so easily. Ino-chan! It's good to see you again! Is it true you're dating that dog boy?"

"Y-Yeah!" Ino said.

"GET DOWN FROM THERE!" Kankuro yelled again.

Temari thought for a minute and then answered, "No."

"You have paperwork!"

"I feel sorry for Gaara. You say he has to do this paperwork all the time?"

"No, usually he has me do it, but…"

"You do it."

"WHAT!"

"You do it."

"NO!"

"Why not?"

"The same reason you don't want to!"

"So? I'm the one who has to play Kazekage while Gaara's gone, right? So you do the paperwork!"

"How'd you work that out! The paperwork's part of being Kazekage!"

"Tell Gaara that."

The two siblings just glared at each other before Kankuro made a move to raise his hands to perform a jutsu. "Argh! Temari!" Kankuro couldn't move. The three ninjas looked to the ground.

"W-WHAT! THAT'S MY JUTSU!" Shikamaru yelled. How had Temari done that?

"I copied you. Of course, I can just barely hold someone for a minute. That's all I can do."

"But…without a Sharigan or bloodline limit…"

"When I was little, I enhanced my hearing an eyesight. However, my smell and touch went down quite a lot," Temari explained.

Kankuro and Temari glared at each other as Temari slowly stopped swinging. "You don't even care about Gaara, DO YOU! You're GLAD to get rid of him!" Kankuro shouted. Temari looked shocked, and quickly lowered her head. She stood up and walked away.

"Don't you think that was a bit…harsh?" Ino asked Kankuro meekly. He just stared at Temari's retreating back with surprise. He had been expecting to get an answer out of her, possibly even make her do the paperwork, but…

Shikamaru just watched Temari leave. How? That had been explained, but it seemed like the answers were impossible…

"Hey, Shikamaru, you okay?" asked Chouji. "So she's the one you were supposed to kill? Didn't do a very good job of it…"

"Shut up," Shikamaru snapped, heading off towards the hotel (the same way Temari went) to think things out.


	4. Let's Talk

Chapter 4: Let's Talk:

Shikamaru walked down the empty streets, thinking about everything that had happened. He looked up at the sky; it was cloudless. Suddenly, he heard a loud sob from somewhere down one of the alleys.

Shikamaru listened a while longer and decided to go investigate, turning down the alley where he had heard the crying. There sat Temari, her back to him, curled into a ball and crying her heart out. Shikamaru backed away slowly, but Temari heard him and lifted her head slowly.

"S-Sorry!" he said, stumbling backwards. Shikamaru had absolutely no experience with crying girls.

"D-Don't go!" Temari said, spinning around. "L-Let's talk?"

"O-Okay…"

"You've changed."

"So've you."

They sat there in silence, backs against the wall.

"I'm sorry for attacking you."

"Huh? Oh, I forgave you even before you 'killed' me! It was orders, and I respect that. But I also respect the fact that you were able to 'kill' me without emotions getting in the way. I know if I had to kill you, I probably wouldn't be able to finish it. I'm not strong enough.

"And if I mistakenly killed you, I probably would have turned cold and unfriendly. I probably wouldn't talk much, and seem hostile in my mourning."

"…"

"That happened to you, didn't it?"

"…"

They sat in silence again.

"I don't like this place. There's no clouds," Shikamaru said.

"Yeah. I like Konoha a lot better, but at least I can watch the stars," Temari answered.

Silence again. Then, "Why were you crying?"

"You know what Kankuro said isn't…it isn't true?" Temari asked him.

"Hm? About you and Gaara?"

"Yeah."

"It's more like I care too much. Kankuro never knew, but…we were close. Ever since Gaara was about seven."

When she got no answer, she continued, "He came to me one day, crying. He wanted to know if he was a monster, and what the matter was with him. I couldn't comfort him except to hold him while he cried. From then on, he had acknowledged me; not necessarily as a sister, but no doubt as his one and only friend. But as I said, Kankuro doesn't know." Temari was crying again.

"A-and I'm so worried!"

Shikamaru didn't know what to do, so he awkwardly took her into his arms and let her cry. "Don't worry; Gaara can take care of himself. He's not a little boy anymore," Shikamaru comforted.

"H-He'll a-always be m-my baby b-brother, though!" Temari said through her tears.

"Yeah."

"I…I'm sorry," Temari said, attempting to pull away from Shikamaru.

"No, it's okay…to cry," Shikamaru told her, holding her tighter. They stayed in that position for about ten minutes until Shikamaru realized Temari had fallen asleep.

'_Shit…I don't know where her house is.'_

So they remained there until the sky was dark and shone with stars. Shikamaru had fallen asleep, to. They lay there holding each other in the alley.

"Temari! Temari, where are you!" Kankuro called.

"Shikamaru!"

"Shikamaru-kun!"

"Hey, where do you think they are? I'm really worried…it's dark," Ino asked Kankuro.

"I don't know. Temari's never been out this late, either. We've checked everywhere. Let's check the streets they took on their way home again, and this time the alleys.

_Five minutes later…_

Chouji walked down one of the alleys, looking for his best friend and the substitute Kazekage. Suddenly, he came upon the two sleeping in a strange position. Temari looked like she had been crying…

Instead of calling out to the others, he gently shook them awake. "Hey, Shikamaru; everyone's looking for you two!"

Shikamaru woke up slowly and realized that he still held Temari in his arms, and she was starting to wake up to. He looked helplessly to Chouji.

"I'm leaving now. Come along when you're ready; don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

Chouji left them, feasting on a bag of potato chips.

"H-Hey, Pineapple-head?" Temari said, standing up slowly and stretching.

"Y-Yeah?" She wasn't mad at him, was she?

"Thanks," she said, walking away.

'_Women are so troublesome…'_ Shikamaru thought as he made his way back to his teammates.


	5. Hope

Okay, probably the last chapter, but I might write more, depending on how I feel. Maybe I'll write two endings, one happy and one sad? Who knows; for now, just finish reading what I _have_ written.

Chapter 5: Hope:

The next week went by quickly. The Sand nins and Leaf nins spent a lot of time as a group.

Shikamaru noticed that he really liked Temari's rare smile.

Temari noticed that she really liked Shikamaru's rare laugh.

Ino noticed that Temari only smiled around Shikamaru.

Chouji noticed Shikamaru only laughed around Temari.

Ino and Chouji smiled at each other and were happy for their friends.

(&)

_The week is over:_

_The gate of the Hidden Village of Sand_

"Hey, we'll come visit some time," Kankuro promised, shaking hands with Shikamaru and Chouji and hugging Ino.

"Yeah! It's a promise!" Temari said, hugging her friends goodbye. "Hey, Pineapple-head, I want to talk to you alone for a minute," Temari whispered, pulling him into an alley.

"What is it? This is too bothersome…"

"I see you're back to your old self!" Temari smiled. "I have something to give you." Temari closed the space between Shikamaru and herself. "Close your eyes."

Shikamaru closed his eyes, and Temari leaned up to plant a kiss on Shikamaru's lips. Shikamaru deepened the kiss, though surprised at Temari's present. They pulled away from each other.

"There," Temari said, blushing. "You have my very first kiss!"

"W-Why? I don't have anything for you," Shikamaru said, confused.

"You already gave me something, Pineapple-head!" Temari hugged him. "You gave me hope when I needed it the most."

Three ninjas watched them secretly and quietly, smiling at their friends'/sister's newfound love.

Temari and Kankuro waved their friends off, hoping to see them again soon.

'_I love you, Shikamaru…'_ Temari smiled and looked up to the sky. It was covered in clouds. Laughing, Temari made her way home with her brother.

Shikamaru looked up to the sky, covered in clouds. He smirked. _'I love you, Temari…'_

And maybe, just maybe, someday they will be able to stay together…forever.


End file.
